Romeo versus Juliet
by ReadrOfBooks
Summary: Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase are chosen for the lead roles in the school play. The only problem? They hate each other. Percabeth AU. Yes, this is a PJO-goes-to-HS-and-everyone-is-mortal fic! ABANDONED
1. Act 1, Scene 1: Auditions

Disclaimer: I'm not Riordan. It's called Fanfiction for a reason…and that goes for the whole story!

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><p>Annabeth wasn't at theater auditions on purpose. She would rather stay far, far away from the drama department a Goode High, thank you very much. But her best friend Thalia wanted to audition for the new play, even though they were both dyslexic, and since Thalia was staying with Annabeth, Annabeth figured that she might as well stay and do her homework. The play was Romeo and Juliet (go figure), and Thals was trying out for the part of Nurse—along with everyone else at auditions. Well, that wasn't exactly true. Most of the girls were going for Lady Capulet or Nurse, simply because they figured that everyone would be trying out for Juliet. Reverse psychology, anyone? All the boys were trying out for whatever part they thought would be the most violent. Annabeth and Thalia's friend, Luke, was trying out for the part of Paris. Luke was a jock, but that was okay. The girls had a long history with him. Suddenly...<em>he<em> walked into the gym. Annabeth and Thalia hated _his _guts.

_He_ was Perseus Jackson, swimming champion, boyfriend of Rachel Elizabitch Dare (only the richest girl in school, tolerable only because...who is Annabeth kidding, she's not tolerable), son of one of Manhattan's crime lords (yeah, Thals has him pwned on that one), and all-around jerk. He walked into the theater like he owned the place, arm around Elizabitch's waist, followed by their posses.

Mr. Brunner, the Latin teacher and theatre director, looked up from where he was sitting and saw Jerkson and his followers.

"Mr. Jackson! Do you wish to audition for a part?" Mr. Brunner asked. Annabeth expected Jerkson to answer, "No, I'm just here to be my usual bitchy self."

"Actually, yes," Jerkson said. Annabeth's mouth dropped open-and so did everyone else's. "I'd like to audition for the part of Romeo, Grover wants to try out for Mercutio, and Rachel will help with the set." Grover Underwood was known for his sarcastic jokes and love of nature. He was a nice enough kid, in Annabeth's opinion anyways.

Elizabitch (fine, _Rachel_) slapped Jerkson's arm lightly. "I can speak for myself, you know," she told him.

"I know," Jerkson agreed. "I just like to do it for you-makes me feel manly, ya know?" Annabeth rolled her eyes. What. An. Idiot. How stupid can you get, anyways?

"Actually. I wouldn't," Elizabitch said. "That's why you're dating me, remember?" She and Jerkson looked like they were going to start a make-out session, but then Annabeth cleared her throat. Ha.

"Um, Mr. Brunner," Jerkson started.

Mr. Burner looked over at him. "Yes, Percy?"

"My half-brother, Tyson, well, he wants to try out for the part of Benovlio," Jerkson said. Annabeth winced. Tyson Jackson was a special-Ed kid. He meant well, he just wasn't...smart. Add that to his size, and you've got a recipe for trouble.

"That's great, Percy," Mr. Brunner said. "Thanks for telling me."

Jerkson exhaled loudly. "So will he be able to try out?"

"Maybe," Mr. Brunner decided. "Let's talk it over with your mother first. It's only Wednesday—there's still two more days to audition, after all."

Annabeth raced backstage to tell Thalia and Luke everything that had just happened. She skidded around the corner and ended up in the line for the part of Juliet. Oh shit.

"Hello Annabeth," Mr. Brunner (who was stuck in a wheelchair despite appearing young-ish), said. "Are you auditioning for the part of Juliet?"

Mr. Brunner was like a second father to Annabeth. How could she tell him "No, I'm only backstage to tell Thals and Luke that Percy Jerkson is here? Annabeth swallowed hard. "Well...actually, I...yes." Oh, Annabeth. What have you gotten yourself into this time?

Mr. Brunner grinned. "Excellent! Here's a copy of the script." He handed Annabeth a huge packet of papers. Annabeth looked at the one on the top, and, despite her dyslexia, noticed something wrong with the script.

"Wait a minute-why isn't this in Shakespearean English?"Annabeth asked. "Not that I'm complaining or anything, but..."

"The school board decided that we should use a modernized version of the script, so that more people will be able to understand it," Mr. Brunner explained. "They decided that we should use the SparkNotes version, since the translation is clearest there."

Annabeth thought over that for a minute. "Okay...great, I guess. Which scene will I be doing?"

"Act one, scene five—the scene where Romeo and Juliet meet," Mr. Brunner said.

"Great, good to know," Annabeth said. She flipped to the correct page and started reading. There was a lot of stuff about pilgrims and saints and "profaning holy shrines". Dyslexia should go to hell.

All too soon (and yet still after everyone else had gone), it was Annabeth's turn to audition. And guess who was acting as Romeo? Jerkson, that's who.

"Okay, begin," Mr. Brunner said.

"Your hand is like a holy place that my hand is unworthy to visit. If you're offended by the touch of my hand, my two lips are standing here like blushing pilgrims, ready to make things better with a kiss," Jerkson said. He was a surprisingly good actor.

"Good pilgrim, you don't give your hand enough credit. By holding my hand you show polite devotion. After all, pilgrims touch the hands of statues of saints. Holding one palm against another is like a kiss," This Shakespeare stuff is actually sort of fun.

"Don't saints and pilgrims have lips too?" Jerkson looked so..._woebegone_ when he said that, it was absolutely hilarious.

"Yes, pilgrim—they have lips that they're supposed to pray with." Haha, Romeo's asking Juliet if he can kiss her and she's telling him off. Good for her.

"Well then, saint, let lips do what hands do. I'm praying for you to kiss me. Please grant my prayer so my faith doesn't turn to despair." God, Romeo was such a flirt. Annabeth hated guys like that-the ones who would talk to girls and tell them that they were really hot or sexy or whatever. Then the boy would take her to some party where everyone was wasted and rape her. Someone tried that with Thalia—he was still on crutches. Sucker.

"Saints don't move, even when they grant prayers," OMG Juliet's flirting back! What was Shakespeare thinking! And yet, Annabeth was doing a good job acting. She could tell from the way that the other students were watching her and Jerkson.

"Then don't move while my prayer is granted," Percy read. He looked up and over at Mr. Brunner. "Umm, Mr. Brunner, do I have to act out this part of the script?"

Annabeth looked down at her paper and turned bright red. The script read, 'He kisses her.' Well, that's not gonna happen anytime soon. Annabeth didn't want to kiss anyone, let alone Jerkson.

"Hm? Oh, don't worry about that yet. You two will have to kiss in the actual practices, though," Mr. Brunner said. Jerkson made a face. Annabeth couldn't help but notice that Mr. Brunner was talking as if he already knew that she and Jerkson were going to play Romeo and Juliet. Shit.

Jerkson cleared his throat and continued reading his line. "Now my sin has been taken from my lips to yours."

"Then do my lips now have the sin they took from yours? Annabeth read. Wow, Shakespeare was either a genius or an idiot. Maybe both.

"Sin from my lips? You encourage crime with your sweetness. Give me my sin back." And yet another non-kiss pops up.

Annabeth read the last line-"You kiss like you've studied how." Finally, it was over!

Mr. Brunner rolled his wheelchair over. "Great job, both of you. Auditions will continue tomorrow, and callbacks will be announced next Friday-not in three days but a week after that. Thank you for your time, everyone!"

Everyone got up and started walking out. Before Annabeth could go, Jerkson grabbed her wrist.

"You did a great job, Annabeth," he told her. "I hope we both make the callbacks."

"Yeah, I do too," she replied. "It seems like it's gonna be a lot of fun. So…see you next Friday, I guess?"

"If not before that," Jerkson replied. He walked away, and Annabeth remembered just who she had a conversation with. She banged her head on the nearest wall in response and went to go join Thalia and Luke outside.

"You did a great job with your audition, Annabeth," Thalia said. She looked like she was trying to hold back laughter. "You and Jerkson make a cute couple."

"Thanks," Annabeth auto-replied to Thalia's first comment. "You did a good job too—wait, what!"

Luke and Thalia were both laughing now. "She said, you and Jerkson make a cute couple," Luke managed to get out. "And it's true, too!"

Annabeth shook her head. "Shut up. Besides, it was only an audition. We're not dating or anything."

"Yet," said Thalia. Annabeth glared at her until she looked apologetic.

"Sorry. Well, not really. But you know what I mean," Thalia said.

"Yeah, I guess I do," Annabeth sighed. "Do you two wanna come over to my place and do homework?"

"I have to come anyways—" Thalia began.

"And as long as we do stuff other than homework, I'm in," Luke finished.

"Deal," Annabeth said.

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><p>During Thursday at lunch, Thalia's friend Silena and her boyfriend Beckendorf came and sat down with Annabeth, Thalia, and Luke. Silena was a bit of a beauty queen, but she wasn't bitchy like you'd expect. She was really nice, actually. She and Annabeth were in a few classes together.<p>

"So Annabeth, I heard you tried out for the school play yesterday," Silena said. "How'd it go?"

"Okay," Annabeth replied. "It could've been better, though."

"As in, you and Percy not being paired together better?" Silena teased.

"Yeah, I guess so," Annabeth said. She laughed. "Too late for that, though." Then Annabeth remembered something. "Wait, how'd you know?"

"Everyone knows, my dear," Silena said comfortably. "I heard it from Drew, who heard it from Lacy, who heard it from Piper, who heard it from Katie Gardner, who heard it from the Stolls, who heard it from Grover. And that's only the person who first told me. I think that over twenty people have told me now, and at least fifteen of them were guys. At _least_."

Annabeth banged her head on the lunch table. "Shit."

"For you, maybe, but not for me!" Silena said cheerfully. "Oh, and all these people tried out too. I don't know which parts—I'm good, but not that good—but they did try out. See you around, Thalia!" Silena and Beckendorf got up from the table and walked away.

Annabeth banged her head on the lunch table again. "Shit," she said. "Shit shit shit shit shit."

"Well, look at the bright side," Luke said. "All of the people who auditioned have similar familial situations to us."

"That's not a bright side, you dumbass," Thalia said. "Silena said that Drew was the one who first told her, and Drew is a bitch of the first degree. She'll be spreading rumors about Annabeth and Percy sleeping together in no time."

"But Annabeth wouldn't do something like that," Luke said, obviously confused. "Why would Drew say that?"

"Because she's a bitch and wants to make Annabeth look bad," Thalia explained. Luke still looked mystified.

"Hey, you two aren't making me feel any better about this," Annabeth pointed out. "I'm the one who's being talked about, remember?"

Thalia glanced at Annabeth. "Right, I forgot. Sorry. Help me explain Drew's behavior to Luke, will you?"

"That's impossible.

"Good point. I'm gonna try anyways, though."

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><p>On Friday, Annabeth, Thalia, and Luke all went to Tyson's auditions. He did a good job—hardly messing up on any lines at all. Percy and Grover helped him through it. Lots of Tyson's classmates showed up. They didn't get much of what was going on, but they were enthusiastic anyways. It was cute. Elizabitch showed up too, but she did not look happy about it. Sucker.<p>

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><p>On Saturday, Annabeth and Thalia went to Luke's basketball game. Their team won, though it was a close game. Afterwards, the team had a pizza party at a local Domino's. At one point, someone started a game of Truth or Dare.<p>

"Luke, Truth or Dare?" One of Luke's teammates—Annabeth thought his name was Lee—asked.

"Dare," Luke replied.

"Kiss Thalia."

The whole team simultaneously went, "Ohhh." Thalia looked at Annabeth with a panicked expression.

Luke flushed a deep red. "Umm…we get one skip, right? Can I use mine?"

Lee rolled his eyes. "Fine. But that means you don't get any more skips. At all. As in, you have to do everything you're told to for the rest of this game."

On Luke's next turn, he chose Truth. The question was: 'Do you want to kiss Thalia?"

Thalia cleared her throat. "Um, Annabeth and I have to go now. It's her curfew." It was eight o'clock, and Annabeth's curfew was eleven. But no one said anything at all.

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><p>On Sunday, Thalia avoided Luke as much as possible. At the end of the day, she and Annabeth were exhausted, and Thalia had many more clothes from Hot Topic—which just happened to be Luke's least favorite store. The next week was gonna be awkward—especially because callbacks would be announced that Friday.<p>

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><p><strong>AN: Haha, I'm having so much fun writing this…I apologize in advance for any OOC-ness. There is a link to the ACTUAL SparkNotes version of Romeo and Juliet in my profile, past all the copy/paste things. If you review…you will receive a sneak preview of chapter 2 (wait will be 1 week minimum so that I can write it)! Okay, now go click the little button with the speech bubble!**


	2. Act 1, Scene 2: Callbacks

**A/N: Special thanks to SaviorOfOlympus, PurpleRose328, Ereader64, Alexandra Nightshade, I'mDifferent-GetOverIt, demigod90210, and the two anonymous reviewers for reviewing. Congratulations to anyone who had the good sense to favorite me and/or this story. I would list your pen names, but there are just so many of you...! Well, at least you know that you are appreciated.**

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><p>Including that Monday, there were 5 days until callbacks were announced.<p>

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><p>Day 1: A surprise and a dumbass.<p>

The surprise came during second period, in literature class. Annabeth's teacher, Mr. Blofis, said, "Okay class, since the school play this year is Romeo and Juliet, Mr. Brunner asked me to go over a few things about the play with you. Today we're going to research William Shakespeare."

A collective groan went up. Everyone, including Annabeth, disliked research. Well, aside from a few of the really really geeky kids.

Bianca diAngelo raised her hand. "What do you mean, research Shakespeare? Wouldn't it be easier to just tell us?" A few kids nodded in agreement.

"Easier for you, maybe. More entertaining for me, no way. If your last name starts with the letters A through M, go get your computer!" Mr. Blofis said.

Annabeth's computer was next to Bianca's. "Nice try," Annabeth said. "Too bad it didn't work."

"Thanks," Bianca replied. "Doing research on computers is hard for me, since I'm dyslexic. Same thing with you, right?"

"Yep. It sucks. I mean, doing research wouldn't bother me otherwise; it's just that being dyslexic makes it so much harder. And then I lose my spot whenever I switch back and forth from the notes and the website..." Annabeth said.

"I know, right? It's horrible. You have it easier than me because you're smart, too." Bianca said.

"Don't be stupid, B, you're smart too. Ooh, I just had an idea. Do you wanna sit with me and Thalia and Luke during lunch? Though I have to warn you, sitting with us means helping me convince Thals to admit she likes Luke." Annabeth asked.

Bianca grinned. "Definitely. I have third period with Thalia—how 'bout I start there?"

"And I have third with Luke. We'll double up on them." Annabeth said.

"Miss diAngelo and Miss Chase, please stop talking. Surely Shakespeare can't be that interesting," Mr. Blofis said lazily. Annabeth and Bianca glanced at each other. "Yes, Mr. Blofis," they chorused.

"See you at lunch?" Bianca asked.

"Totally."

Dumbass Part 1: Third Period

Annabeth decided to cut to the chase (Annabeth, cut to the chase, Annabeth Chase? Get it? Ah, whatever).

"Luke, you like Thalia, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, of course I like Thalia, she's one of my best friends," Luke replied slowly.

"No, I mean like like. As in, you want to be more than 'just friends'," Annabeth said impatiently.

Luke blushed but didn't say anything.

"Ha! You do like her. Well, Thals likes you too. And after Saturday, you have got to ask her out."

Luke looked shocked and terrified. "What! I couldn't do that. She'd probably freak or something, after what that bastard at Will Solace's party tried to do to her."

"Luke, stop being stupid. Thalia knows that you're not going to try something like that on her. She's your best friend. Just ask her at lunch or something," Annabeth said. Boys could be so..._dense_ sometimes.

"Fine. I'll ask Thals out at lunch."

"Excellent. By the way—what was your answer to the Truth you took at the pizza party on Saturday?"

"I'm not going to tell you, you're only a freshman!"

"Fine, be that way."

Dumbass Part 2: Lunch

Bianca caught up to Annabeth as she was walking to the lunch table.

"Did you manage to convince Luke?" she asked.

"Yep, he's gonna ask her out," Annabeth replied.

"And I got Thalia to admit that she likes him, so she better say yes," Bianca replied. "Oh crap, sibling alert. Here comes my brother Nico. He's in eighth grade."

"He can sit with us, too. Thalia and Luke won't mind."

"He's obsessed with this Mythomagic thing."

"No way! Luke loves that too! What a coincidence."

Dumbass Part Three: After Lunch

"Why didn't you ask Thalia out?" Annabeth asked, glaring at Luke.

He raised his hands in defense. "Hey, it's not my fault! I was too busy discussing Mythomagic with Nico. He has the awesomest cards, like—"

"Spare me the details," Annabeth said tiredly. "You still didn't ask her out!"

"I said that I would ask her at lunch, I didn't say which lunch!" Luke said. Annabeth groaned. "Tomorrow morning, the very minute you get to school."

"Deal."

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><p>Day 2: The Movie<p>

It was seventh period, the last class of the day. Percy was sitting in literature, not really paying attention to what Paul was saying. Paul—or Mr. Blofis as the other students knew him—was Percy's stepdad. That made things awkward.

"Mr. Jackson, can you tell us how many movies have been made out of the play Romeo and Juliet?" Paul asked. Percy sat up. Someone had made more than one movie out of Romeo and Juliet? When?

"Um, a lot?" Percy guessed.

"Correct!" Paul said. Percy's mouth dropped open, and so did everyone else's. Percy's girlfriend—damn, even after three months it still felt weird staying that—Rachel turned around and tossed a note onto his desk. It read, _Did you really know that, or was it a lucky guess?_ Percy scribbled on the back, _Lucky guess_, and tossed the paper back to her. Rachel turned around and smirked at him.

"The edition we will watch in class is the second most well known. It was made in 1968, and was a huge success. However, the actress who played Juliet wasn't allowed to see the premier because the movie contained a topless scene, even though she was the one topless." Paul said. A few of the students, including Percy, laughed at the comment about the topless scene. How stupid can you get?

"The most well known was made in 1996," Paul continued. "The director set the movie in modern times, so the characters are using cell phones and talking in Shakespearean English at the same time. Leonardo DiCaprio starred as Romeo in that particular version of the play." Rachel sat up and raised her hand. "I've seen that movie," she announced. "and I think it sucked. The only good thing about it was Leonardo DiCaprio." Percy grinned. Rachel had complained for days after watching that.

"Really, Miss Dare? That's fascinating," Paul said in a tone of voice that made it obvious that he thought it was the exact opposite of fascinating. Now, let us please begin watching the movie."

The class got less than halfway through the movie. For the rest of the week, all the class would do was watch the movie. Percy was psyched, simply because that meant no homework. And no homework meant no chances for his grade to drop any lower!

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><p>Day Three: The Announcement<p>

Annabeth, her parents, and her brothers were just finishing up dinner when Thalia came home.

"So, how was your date with Luke?" Annabeth asked immediately.

"What, I don't even get a hello?" Thals replied. She hung her jacket up in the hall closet. "But if you really must know, we had fun, once we got past the awkward part."

"What does awkward mean?" Bobby, one of Annabeth's brothers, asked. Or at least Thalia thought it was Bobby. The twins were hard to tell apart.

"Awkward means uncomfortable, dummy," Matthew told his brother. Matthew looked at Annabeth. "Annabeth, what does uncomfortable mean?"

"I'm not a dummy!" Bobby said. "You are!"

"Boys, settle down. Your mother and I have an announcement to make," Annabeth's dad, Frederick, said. He gripped his wife's hand. "Thalia, today I received a call." Well, that's never a good start to anything.

"It was about your mother. She's out of rehab, and is asking for you," Frederick continued. Another bad sign. "Mrs. Chase and I, well, we were thinking about asking you how you would feel about moving back in with her."

"We're not trying to get rid of you, dear," Mrs. Chase said quickly. "We just thought you might want to spend some time with her, since you'll be going to college and all in a few years."

Thalia contemplated the idea for a minute. She then gave a small, determined nod. "I'll do it."

"Are you sure?" Annabeth asked anxiously. "This is a really big decision, and I love having you live here, it feels like we're practically sisters."

"I'm sure," Thalia said. "Can we take it slowly, though? Like, make sure that this is okay with my mom and all."

"Of course we will," Mrs. Chase said. "This won't happen for A few weeks, anyways. You've got some time." Bobby and Matthew looked confused. They were old enough to know what rehab was and why someone would need it, as well as why Thalia lived with them. What they didn't get was why she couldn't just stay there, and become a part of their family.

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><p>Day 4: Some V.U.V.'s (Very Unexpected Visits)<p>

Luke walked into his and his mom's house. And, what do you know, his dad was there! Hermes, one of the twelve crime lords of Manhattan, at your service. This would be awkward. Little did Luke know that one of his friends was receiving the exact same surprise. Why? Well, not for bring your kid to work day, that's for sure.

"Hi, Dad," Luke said slowly. "What's up?"

"Not much, son. You?" Hermes replied. This was pathetic. They didn't even sound like father and son. Well, guess what? That's what happens when you see each other once every two months at the most.

"School, homework, life—you know, all that shit." Hermes forced a laugh. "I know what you mean. Is your relationship with Zeus' daughter included in 'all that shit'?" Well, that was unexpected.

"No. Definitely not. And how did you know that, anyways? We only went on our first date yesterday," Luke said.  
>Hermes clapped Luke on the shoulder. "I have my ways. Zeus and I will be watching you two, so don't try anything." Wow. Creepy much? Or is that just how dads are supposed to act? Oh no, wait, Luke wouldn't know because his 'dad' is never there!<p>

"Great, good to know. So...see you later, I guess?" Luke asked. Why couldn't this just be over already?

"See you, son." Hermes left without another word. Luke's mentally ill mom stared vacantly out the window. "You are such a beautiful baby, Luke," she whispered. "And Hermes is such a handsome man. Why couldn't we all just be a family?" That was May Castellan for you, always in the past or future, never the present.

Luke was still watching Hermes leave. "I don't know, Mom. I don't know."

* * *

><p>Day Five: The Announcement<p>

On Friday morning, everyone was crowded around the door to Mr. Brunner's office. Why? Because the list of callbacks was taped there.

Annabeth tried to elbow her way in, and failed. "Katie! Can you read off the list?" she called.

"Sure thing," Katie replied. "Let's see...Thalia, Lou Ellen, and I made callbacks for Nurse, Beckendorf and Silena were the only people who made callbacks for Lord and Lady Capulet. Piper and Clarisse made callbacks for Lady Montague, but only Jason for Lord Montague. Grover and Conner Stoll for Mercutio, and Tyson and Clovis for Benvolio. Umm...Ethan Nakamura made callbacks for Tybalt along with Chris Rodriguez. Will Solace made them for Friar Lawrence, along with...TRAVIS STOLL! What the hell was Brunner thinking? Okay, moving on. Luke and Butch made callbacks for Paris, and Castor and Pollux for the prince. Which I don't really get, since they're twins and all, but whatever. Grover and Bobby made them for Mercutio, and Drew, Nyssa what's-her-face, and you made callbacks for Juliet. Oh, and Percy, Michael Yew, and Lee Fletcher made callbacks for Romeo. And the actual callbacks are Tuesday after school. There are a few non-major parts that there weren't callbacks for, do you wanna here those?"

"No, I'm good. Thanks Katie!" Annabeth said.

"No problem," Katie replied. "See you later!"

At lunch, Luke, Thalia, and Annabeth picked up copies of the script from Mr. Brunner. They then proceeded to read through the scenes that would be used for callbacks. Annabeth practiced her lines constantly; Thalia and Luke...not so much.

Wednesday arrived much too soon for everybody involved. Callbacks went quickly; to tell you the truth, Percy didn't even pay attention to most of them, only the ones that his friends were in. Tyson did a great job, which is good, because it's always embarrassing having a mentally retarded half-brother. Especially when you're the most popular boy in school. Not to brag or anything, of course Percy had to go through callbacks four times—once solo, once with Drew, once with Nyssa, and once with Annabeth. Uh oh...

Speak of the devil, and the devil appears: Annabeth was glaring over at him.

Grover tapped Percy's shoulder. "Dude, were you even listening? Mr. Brunner just said that you and Annabeth are playing Romeo and Juliet. And she hates you, you know. It's obvious."

Percy blinked. "Right, sorry. I totally knew that." Then he turned to look at Grover. "Wait, what? Why would Annabeth hate me?"

Grover shrugged. "I have no idea. Go ask her yourself, before she leaves." Percy looked over to where Annabeth had been standing. She was walking out the door, talking and laughing with Bianca, Thalia, and Luke. Percy said bye to Grover and sprinted off in their direction.

"Hey Luke, Thalia, Bianca, Annabeth," Percy said. "How's your day been?"

"It was great, until you came along and ruined it," Annabeth said icily. Luke rolled his eyes, but Bianca and Thalia started laughing.

Percy blinked. "Well, it wasn't intentional, if that makes you feel better. Can I talk to you in private for a minute?"

"Dude, you did not just go there," Luke said. He leaned over to talk to Percy semi-privately. "She hates your guts! What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that she hates me, and our characters in the play are in love with each other," Percy replied.

Luke rolled his eyes. "It's your ass, man."

Annabeth looked over at Percy and raised an eyebrow like "Are you coming or not?" He followed her obediently to the inside of a doorway.

"Well?" she asked. "You're the one who wanted to talk to me."

Percy decided to get straight to the point. "What reasons do you have for hating me?" he demanded. "Either I completely forgot about something, or—"

Annabeth held up her hand for Percy to stop talking. "Short list or long?"

"What are you talking about?" Percy asked. Unsurprisingly, he looked confused.

"Short list or long list," Annabeth said. She did her best to enunciate clearly, because something wasn't clicking in that idiot's head. "Of the reasons why I hate you."

"Um, long, I guess," Percy replied.

"Let's see..." Annabeth said. "You're annoying, obnoxious, loud, arrogant, rude, annoying, stupid, stuck up—"

"Whoa, stop right there," Percy said. "You said annoying twice. And is arro-whatsit even a real word?"

"I'm aware that I said annoying twice," Annabeth said slowly. "That was sorta the point. And yes, arrogant is a real word. To put it in terms that you would understand, it means acting better than you really are."

Percy shook his head in disgust. "Are there any reasons other than my personal faults? Or are you finished?"

"Oh, I haven't even gotten started yet," Annabeth replied cheerfully. "You're dating Rachel Elizabitch Dare, for example—"

Percy struggled to not burst out laughing. "Elizabitch? Really?"

"Yep," Annabeth replied. "Elizabitch Dare and Perseus Jerkson." She went silent when she saw the look on Percy's face.

"Jerkson? You really called me that behind my back?" he asked quietly. "Elizabitch I can understand, but...I guess I just never thought you'd say something like that." Ughhh. Guilt trip much? Now Annabeth felt bad, and it was hard to stay mad at Percy. "Well, I did. And it's too late to take it back now," she said heavily. "Do you need any other reasons, or are you good?"

"I have a feeling that there's one more," Percy said. Annabeth tugged the neckline of her shirt down to show her tattoo.

"I'm a daughter of Athena," she said miserably, gesturing to the tiny gray-and-gold owl on her collarbone. "You're a son of Poseidon. Our _parents_ are sworn enemies."Percy pulled the bottom edge of his shirt up to show her his teal trident. "Our crime lord parents may be enemies, but your dad is one of my mom's teachers at the university. Whaddya say about giving up hating me, at least for a little while?"Annabeth considered his proposition for a moment. "We'll see," she said. "At least for the play, anyways. I don't know about afterwards, but we will maintain a neutral relationship for the play, Perseus Jackson." Annabeth started walking back to where Luke, Thalia, and Bianca were waiting. Percy smiled. She hadn't called him Jerkson. It wasn't much of one, but it was a start.

* * *

><p><strong>OMG <strong>_**9**_** REVIEWS! You guys are awesome...I love you all. Once again, there will be a sneak peek of the next chapter for anyone who reviews. Wait one week minimum so I can write it. Now go click the button with the speech bubble...**


	3. Act 1, Scene 3: Read Through, part 1

Special thanks to I'mDifferent-GetOverIt, musiclover99, Alexandra Nightshade, DemiSpy, demigod90210, lovelikewoe13, fictionzany, AnnabethChaserocks, PurpleRose328, bloodyXfangs, frostfeatherFTW101, Suki-Alanna, SeaweedBrain33, Tink'n'Zoey, Sapphire12, ButterflyFlyToMe, and the two anonymous people for taking the time to review. Congratulations to everyone who had the good sense to favorite me/this story (again with the too many to list all of the pen names thing). Yes, this will become a regular thing—if you guys do anything other than put me on Author/Story Alert, I will publicly thank you. You deserve it.

* * *

><p>All the forms and stuff had been completed, and Thalia was ready to see her mom. They—Thalia, the Chases, and Luke—were at the Manhattan Rehabilitation visiting center, and had been waiting for fifteen minutes. Mr. Chase was looking at his watch every two seconds. Mrs. Chase was trying to stop Bobby and Matthew from being too loud. Annabeth was holding Thalia's hand. Luke's arm was around Thalia's waist. All seven of them were preparing for the worst.<br>A nurse walked into the room. "Thalia? Your mother is ready to see you now," she said sweetly.  
>"Okay, thanks for letting me know," Thalia replied. Luke's arm tightened around her waist, and she buried her face in his shoulder. Annabeth squeezed Thalia's hand.<br>Ms. Grace walked out of the door that he nurse had just left through. She looked around at Mr. and Mrs. Chase, then at Bobby and Matthew. Finally, her gaze landed on Thalia, Luke, and Annabeth.  
>"Thalia? Baby, is that you?" she asked. "You've grown up so much since I last saw you. Same thing with Luke and Annabeth."<br>"I'm fifteen, Mom. It's been five years," Thalia said softly. Annabeth could see that she was trying not to cry. "Of course we've grown up. It's called puberty."  
>Ms. Grace laughed. "Alright, I deserved that one. What have you been up too lately?"<br>"Um...well, Luke and me started dating, and..." Thalia began, but found that she couldn't continue. Don't you hate it when you're asked a question, then you can't remember what the answer is?"

"Thalia, why don't you tell your mother about the school play?" Mrs. Chase suggested. Annabeth shot her stepmother a grateful look.

"Ooh, you're doing a school play? Which one?" Ms. Grace asked. "That's how I got started acting, you know. In a school play."  
>"<em>Romeo and Juliet<em>," Thalia answered stiffly. "I'm playing Nurse."

"Really? That's my favorite character!" Mrs. Chase said delightedly. "Do you have your script with you?"

Thalia looked confused. "Yeah, it's right here." Luke shifted slightly so Thals could reach her purse. She took out a slightly crumpled packet of papers out of her purse. "You wanna look at it?"  
>Ms. Grace took the papers from Thalia's outstretched hand. "Let's see...now wait a minute. Why are these in regular English?"<p>

"The school board decided that we should use the SparkNotes version of the play because everybody'll be able to understand it," Thalia explained. "Unfortunately, that doesn't make it much easier on my dyslexia."

"Ooh, that must be tough. Want some help practicing?" Ms. Grace asked.

"Um, sure. Thanks, Mom." Thalia smiled slightly. "We're working on this scene here." Luke got up and moved to the other side of Thalia so Ms. Grace could sit next to her. He and Annabeth bumped fists.

"How'd you convince her to bring her script?" Luke asked out of the corner of his mouth.

"I didn't," Annabeth replied. "I stuffed it in her purse when she wasn't looking. She found it on the way over when she was looking for her new Green Day CD."

* * *

><p>For once, everything in Annabeth's life was perfect. She was in a school play, her two best friends had finally started dating, Thalia was talking with her mom again, and she had almost no homework over the weekend. Only about an hour's worth, compared to three hours. This didn't really make sense, seeing as it was mid-September, but whatever. Best of all, there were no rehearsals because it was Friday. And Friday meant Saturday, which meant sleeping in! Score!<p>

"Hey Annabeth. What's up?" Percy asked. He had caught up to her when she wasn't looking. So much for a perfect day.

"The sky. I'm only walking home—how much can I be doing?" she replied. Someone has phrasing issues.

"A lot," Percy said. "For example, you could be texting, talking on the phone, talking with someone in purpose, listening to music, singing, humming, reading—"

Annabeth cut Percy off mid-tirade. "Slow down there. I don't listen to music, and Thalia and Luke are on a date, and I don't know of anyone else who lives near me. And I don't even use my cell phone."

"I don't even have one," Percy replied cheerfully. "Something to do with who my dad is and radiation frying my brain, I think. I was just listing everything it's physically possible for you to do."

Annabeth shook her head, smiling slightly. "You have seaweed for brains. I didn't even know that you knew the word physically."

"And you're to wise for your own good. Girls shouldn't be wise. And I have no idea how to spell physically. I just know what it means."

"What do you mean, girls shouldn't be wise? Tell me one good reason why girls shouldn't be smart," Annabeth demanded.

"No, I never said girls shouldn't be smart. It's just that when a girl is too smart, like you, it's not a good thing," Percy explained.

"Like I said, seaweed for brains." Maybe this getting-along thing wouldn't be as hard as Annabeth thought.

* * *

><p>Nico was working on his homework when his mother called him into her studio.<p>

"Nico, can you come help me?" she called, Italian accent turning her words into a song. "I can't find my paper or art supplies."

Maria's studio was a mess. The walls were covered with hundreds of sketches, in all different mediums. Her desk was coated in paint, oil pastel, and turpentine stains. What little you could see of the wood showed that it was a dark mahogany. There was no artificial light on the room, but there were floor-to-ceiling windows. Overall, the studio was as beautiful as it was chaotic.

Maria was sitting on her chair, rummaging through all the desk drawers.

"I just bought those pencils the other day, and now they're missing," she muttered.

Nico was standing behind his mom, struggling not to laugh. "Mom, they're right here. I grabbed the pencils and your new paper off the kitchen table." This happened a lot. Maria was calm and serene, never worrying or caring. Thank God that she made money off her artwork, because she would never be able to hold a job. Maria wasn't careless, she just was a little flighty. She didn't deal with responsibility well, but she cared for and loved Bianca and Nico. And that was all that mattered. Well, that and Nico's Mythomagic cards.

Maria sat down at the kitchen table and started sketching. Nico opened the fridge and grabbed a can of root beer. Just when he was taking a sip, Maria asked, "Do you still like that girl at school? Talisa?"

Nico spit out his soda, spraying it everywhere. "Her name's Thalia," he replied, trying hard to keep emotion out of his voice.  
>"So you do still like her!" Maria sounded triumphant. What was it with moms that they had to know ex-act-ly what's going on in your life? Can't man just mind his own business?<p>

"Maybe. But she's, like, a sophomore—and dating that jock Luke Castellan. He's not good enough for her," Nico grumbled. He would bet all of his Mythomagic cards that Luke didn't even know who Green Day was, let alone Linkin Park or My Chemical Romance.

Maria stood up and kissed Nico on the forehead. "One day, you will find the perfect girl," she told him. "You will know her when you see her, just as Romeo knew Juliet."

"They both _died_ at the end of that play, Mom," Nico pointed out.

Maria shrugged. "Eh, it's the thought that counts."

* * *

><p>Luke was fooling around on the computer when he heard the knock on the door. Mom was sleeping, so he would have to get it. He sighed and got up from the computer.<p>

"What do you want?" Luke asked. The person was a little Asian kid, about a year younger than him. Funny thing was, he had an eye patch over his left eye.

"Are you Luke Castellan, son of Hermes?" the kid asked. Okay, that's just creepy. Only a few people knew who Luke's father was—his mom, Thalia, and Annabeth. So which bastard told this kid, and how did they find out?

"Duh. And you are...?" Luke replied, doing his best to intimidate the kid. _Please let this work, please let this work..._

"Nakamura, Ethan Nakamura. Son of Nemesis, formerly unclaimed." Nemesis did payback—making sure that what goes around comes around. Well, that makes the kid a damn bit more dangerous. It also explains the eye patch.

"So, what do you want?" Luke asked. Ethan was starting to annoy him.

The kid took a breath. "Hermes never visited you as a child, right? And when he did, it was only for a few minutes at a time. Sure, he sent the checks, but money isn't the same as having a real dad."

"Whoa, slow down there. How the hell do you know that?" Luke asked. A mix of (purely negative) emotions rose in Luke. Why did the 'great' crime lord of Manhattan do this to him? What did Luke do to deserve not having a father, let alone one sane parent? Oh, that's right. He was _born_.

"Never mind that," Ethan continued. "We know about your mom, too. What did you do to deserve that? Why should any child have to go through that?  
>"I went through something similar. My mom didn't even bother telling me—let alone my dad—who she was. To top it off, Dad was a drug dealer." Ethan had hit the nail on the head. He knew how Luke felt, and had even been through something similar. The kid wasn't as wimpy as he looked, that's for looked Luke straight in the eye. "The crime lords don't deserve our allegiance. They never did. Why should we aid them, when they never have done or will do the same for us?"<p>

"Well, they did provide our X- and Y-chromosomes, respectively," Luke answered sarcastically. In truth, he agreed with everything Ethan had said. Why should we obey and assist them, when they never deserved that?

Ethan snorted. "True. It seems like none of them have ever heard the word condom before. But that's not the point. I work for someone who is planning to overthrow them. When he arises, he will give justice to those who deserve it. Some of the minor crime lords, like Mother dear, have joined him. They do not like the way Zeus is controlling Manhattan. Will you join us?" Ethan stuck out his hand for Luke to shake. For some, the choice would be difficult, impossible even. But Luke had made up his mind long ago. He took Ethan's hand. "What do I have to do?"

* * *

><p>It was Monday after school. Everyone of any importance was in the auditorium, doing rehearsals.<p>

"Alright everybody, let's try Act 1, Scene 5," Mr. Brunner announced.

Annabeth spun around to face him. "Wait, what? Isn't that, like, a kissing scene?" A few snickers echoed around the room.

"Well, you'll have to do it at one point or another," Mr. Brunner pointed out. Without waiting for a response, he signaled them to begin. Annabeth waited in backstage for her part to begin. She had come close to memorizing all of Acts 1 and 2 already, so she didn't need her script. That didn't help her nerves any, though. The people playing Tybalt and Lord Capulet walked off the stage. Annabeth and Percy walked on. Her heart was beating a million miles a minute. This would be her first kiss; she hadn't even dated anyone yet. Annabeth attempted to concentrate on what she was supposed to be doing.

** "**Your hand is like a holy place that my hand is unworthy to visit. If you're offended by the touch of my hand, my two lips are standing here like blushing pilgrims, ready to make things better with a kiss," Percy read. Annabeth was blushing. Why was she blushing? She shouldn't be blushing. Percy wasn't blushing. _Note to self: Find a synonym for blushing…_

"Good pilgrim, you don't give your hand enough credit. By holding my hand you show polite devotion. After all, pilgrims touch the hands of statues of saints. Holding one palm against another is like a kiss."

"Don't saints and pilgrims have lips too?"

"Yes, pilgrim—they have lips that they're supposed to pray with.

"Well then, saint, let lips do what hands do. I'm praying for you to kiss me. Please grant my prayer so my faith doesn't turn to despair." Why the hell did this rhyme, anyways? _Only two more lines until the kiss…_

"Saints don't move, even when they grant prayers." Annabeth licked her lips out of nervousness. _Percy, just get this over with, please…_

"Then don't move while I act out my prayer."

Percy stepped forward and kissed her.

* * *

><p><strong>Ha! Finally! I know, I'm a horrible person. And I have no (decent) excuses…well, 4 should be out a lot faster. There will be a sneak preview if you leave a (signed) review, even though you will have to wait a while. I would say sorry, but I'm not…now go click the little button with the speech bubble!<strong>


	4. Act 1, Scene 4: Read Through, part 2

** Special thanks to ****musiclover99, Skywriter5, PurpleRose328, alexandriarulzforeva, bloodyXfangs , Alexandra Nightshade, VictoriaG98, BookReader10, Angel's Detective****, ****I'mDifferent-GetOverIt, starglow13, Unhr25, LittleMissFutureToBe, AnnabethChaserocks, Annabelle-Paisilee Nott, Kaleidoscope Heavens, owlinthesea, ButterflyFlyToMe, demigod90210, AmeeThePercabethLover, Tink'n'Zoey and the (sadly) anonymous Boblikssexytrees for reviewing. Kudos to all you awesome people out there who had the good sense to favorite me and/or this story.**

** Owlinthesea: I apologize for not responding to your review. At the time, you had private messaging off, so I had no way to contact you. To answer your question, a crime lord is someone who masterminds all the crime in a certain area. Because I was unable to send you the sneak preview for this chapter, I will send you the one for five without you having to review.**

* * *

><p>Kissing was awkward. This was Annabeth's immediate impression; her second was that Percy's breath smelled. Whose idea was it to serve tuna for lunch in the cafeteria, anyways? However, his lips were soft on hers. If Percy's breath wasn't so bad, this might actually be...fun.<p>

"So, was it as bad as you thought it would be?" Percy asked. He looked smug, like he had been enjoying himself. Ew.

"Worse. Did you have the tuna special for lunch or something?" Annabeth replied. Percy turned bright red. "Maybe. Maybe not. The world may never know..." he said mysteriously.  
>Mr. Brunner groaned. "Can we please return to rehearsals? The play starts showing November 30. We have a month and a half to memorize everything, make all the sets and find costumes, design, print, and distribute flyers, and generally perfect the play—"<p>

"Keep your hair on, Mr. Brunner!" Conner Stoll yelled. He was swinging from the lighting system by one hand. "We'll be fine! Like, I know you're old and all, but you seriously don't need to worry about anything!" Mr. Brunner looked like he was in his mid-thirties—at the most.

He sighed. "True enough. Alright, let's finish up working on Act 1 today! I want to start Act 2 by Wednesday, tops!" Everyone groaned. But they knew what they were in for when they signed up...and there was always the understudy.

* * *

><p>Luke was spending every spare moment he had with Ethan. Right now, they were going through some sort of training to help whoever was in charge of this (Ethan wasn't allowed to tell him). The training was mostly physical—for now. That made it easier, in some ways. Luke had a good memory for sports-related things; all you had to do was show him something a few times and he would remember it perfectly. Between Thalia, the play, basketball, and school, he had almost no time, but he managed to find some. Already he was doing better than people who had started training weeks ago. This was going to be a very good thing; Luke could feel it.<p>

* * *

><p>"This is the apartment you rented? No joke?" Thalia asked. After seven years, she was finally moving back in with her mom.<p>

"Well, since the rehab was city-funded, I have quite a bit of money left over from acting and all..." Ms. Grace blushed. She had picked out a three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath apartment whose previous renter had been some sort of engineering genius. They had made some modifications to it—as in, touch-screen controls for almost every appliance, turning the bathtubs into Jacuzzis, and making the wall between the kitchen and living room into an aquarium—well, you get the idea. Even though all those extras were nice, what mattered was spending time with Thalia. Nothing was more important. She hadn't been there for almost half of her daughter's life, and it was time to make up for it.

"You're going to help me unpack!" Ms. Grace called back. She was carrying a box from the hallway into the kitchen.

"Wouldn't have it any other way. By the way, am I allowed to paint my room black?"

"Absolutely not!"

"Fine."

* * *

><p>Bianca was walking home from school when she passed by the local archery range. There were some girls practicing there—all of them looked like they were in their mid-teens. They were all really good—most girls hit the bull's-eye four out of five shots. The best of them, the one with the silver circlet, hit it five out of five.<p>

Bianca walked closer to watch. None of the girls even noticed her. They kept practicing for the next half hour or so. When they were done, Bianca hopped over the fence.

"That was amazing," she called out. "Are you in a club or something?"

"Or something," the girl with the circlet replied. "Do you know of the city's rulers?"

Bianca tugged the neckline of her shirt down a little, to show the black skull tattoo that resided slightly above and between her breasts.

"We are the Hunters. Our mistress is—well, you may have guessed her identity by now." the girl with the circle said. Bianca nodded. She had heard of the Hunters, from her dad. They were a group of Amazon-like warriors, led by the crime lord Artemis. She didn't know anything more than that, though.

"My name is Zoë. I am Artemis' lieutenant, and the leader when she cannot be with us," the girl with the circlet said. She was very pretty, in an arrogant, you're-not-good-enough-to-talk-to-me kind of way.

"How did you get to be so good at archery? Do have special powers, or something?" Bianca asked.

Zoë smirked. "Or something. Come with me to a more secure location, and I'll tell you about it." Without waiting to see if the girl and her fellow Hunters were following, Zoë walked to their (current) apartment building. It was near the archery range, only a block away. She took the elevator—normally, she and the Hunters would take the stairs, but they had a guest—to the seventh floor, apartments 700 to 705.

Zoë walked into one of them and sat down on a couch. The Hunters and the girl followed her. When they were all seated, Zoë began speaking.

"As you know, we are the Hunters of Artemis. Our job is to help our mistress in whatever ways we can. This means almost everything, whether it be taking dogs for a walk or slipping poison into someone's food. Our main trademark is our archery skills. Another is the fact that there are no males allowed. Almost everyone is open to join us."

"Really? Can I join?" Bianca asked. She couldn't see anything wrong with the Hunters. The possibility that she could be out there, doing something big and important—something that would force her father to notice her—was amazing.

"There are a few things that I have to explain first," Zoë said. "We do not come by our archery skills naturally. There is a serum that allows us keener senses, more powerful bodies, and quicker minds. However, that serum only works if you are a virgin. If you use it when you are not a virgin, it has no effect—that we know of. Same goes if you use the serum and then have sex." Oh. Well, that changes a few things. This would be one of the biggest decisions that Bianca would make in her life. She could become a member of Manhattan's most dangerous crime group and give up boys forever, or stay a normal high schooler and continue life as she knew it.

"Can I talk to my mom and little brother first?" Bianca asked. "They're my only family, they deserve to know."

"Do whatever you must before making your decision," Zoë said. She knew what the girl's decision would be, even if she didn't know yet herself. "Just one thing—you never told us your name."  
>The girl smiled slightly as she stood up to leave. "I'm Bianca," she told them. "Bianca DiAngelo."<p>

* * *

><p>Rachel and Percy were talking on the phone before dinner.<p>

"So, how's the play going?" she asked him. "I would be helping out more, but I've been really busy lately with cheerleading and stuff."

Percy found that he was not sure how to answer this question. How do you tell your girlfriend that you cheated on her because a teacher told you to?

"Perce? Are you still there?" said girlfriend asked. Percy licked his lips.

"Well, you know how Romeo and Juliet is technically a romance, and there's kissing scenes, and how we only have a month and a half left before the show starts playing?" Percy asked. _Please don't be mad, please don't be mad, please don't be mad..._

Percy heard a funny noise through the phone. Was Rachel..._laughing_?

"Mr. Brunner made you kiss Annabeth, didn't he?" she asked.

"You're not mad?"

"Of course not. It was only a stage kiss, it didn't mean anything."

"I had tuna for lunch," Percy admitted. "Annabeth said that I had bad breath in front of everyone there."

Rachel started laughing even harder. "That's awesome! I wish I had been there. We could've had some girl bonding over your bad kissing."

"I'm not that bad of kisser!" Percy protested.

"True. Unless your breath smells, then it's absolutely horrible," Rachel replied. "Just ask poor Annabeth."

"I think that was her first kiss too," Percy said. "She had this look of total misery her face, like she didn't want to kiss me or something."

"Then it's even worse for her. You will publicly apologize to Annabeth and may never eat tuna before kissing anyone again," Rachel ordered.

"What! But—"

"No. No buts. You will do as I tell you, or face the wrath of Rachel the tickle monster." Percy groaned. Things like this never ended well for him.

* * *

><p>Frederick and Helen Chase were sitting at the kitchen table, talking quietly. Bobby and Matthew were in the living room playing with Legos and Annabeth was in her room doing homework.<p>

"I got a new job offer at work today," Frederick told his wife. "It's essentially the same thing as it is now, but the salary is almost fifty percent more."

"Really? That's great!" Helen said. "Are you going to accept?"

"Well, there's a problem. The company...their headquarters aren't in Manhattan, and we'd need to move."

"Well, where is it then?" Helen asked. Frederick always beat around the bush like this. It drove her crazy.

"Um...well, if you must know...it's in California. We'd have to move to San Francisco." Frederick said sheepishly.

"Oh."

"Exactly."

"If you do accept, when will the move be?"

"Probably around Christmastime, when the school term is over," Frederick said, adjusting his tie.

"This'll be really hard on the boys and Annabeth," Helen mused to herself.

"I have four weeks to decide, so we don't need to rush or anything," Frederick said. "Although—"

"Mom! He broke my spaceship!" one of the boys called.

"I did not! You broke it yourself!" the other yelled back. Helen sighed. "I guess that I'm in charge of getting that. Shall we continue this discussion later?"

"We shall."

* * *

><p>"What? Bianca, you can't do that!" Nico yelled. "You just can't go off and leave us like that."<p>

"Nico, this is Bianca's choice. The Hunters would be very good for her," Maria reprimanded gently. "Although I would prefer that she stay at home with us, too," she added, looking at her daughter.

Bianca looked back at them helplessly. "This is the offer of a lifetime. I feel like this is what I was born to do."

"I don't care," Nico grumbled. "I just want my sister to stay with me."

"If you must, then I suppose you may," Maria said. Bianca squealed and hugged her mom. Nico got up and ran out of the room.

"He will forgive you eventually," Maria said gently.

"I know. It's just...well, this means so much to me. I wish he could understand that." Bianca replied.

"He will. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, or even next month, but he will."

* * *

><p>It was Wednesday night, and Thalia was eating dinner with her mom.<p>

"Hold on, I just remembered something. I met up with a few old girlfriends of mine the other day and we decided to have a girl's weekend in Vegas," Ms. Grace said.

"Okay...great. And when is this taking place again?" Thalia replied.

"This Friday. Since we just moved in, I thought you might want to bring a few friends over."

"Seriously? Like, have a party?"

"Yeah, sure, why not?"

Thalia jumped up and hugged her mom. "You are the best mom ever," she told her.

Ms. Grace laughed. "I do my best."

* * *

><p>Rachel was in her room drawing when someone knocked on her door.<p>

"Come in," she called, not bothering to look up from her project.

The butler opened the door. "Miss Rachel, someone is here to see you. He says that his name is Fred Leto." Rachel frowned. She didn't know anyone named Fred Leto. The butler stepped aside to reveal the man. Fred Leto was, like she suspected, a pseudonym. Her guest was, in reality, the crime lord Apollo, king of music piracy.

"I'll be in my office if you need me," the butler said. He then left the room, leaving Rachel and Apollo alone.

"Hey there sweetheart," he said. Rachel got up and hugged him briefly.

"How'd you find me?" she asked. Rachel had always known about the crime lords, but Percy told her officially on their six-month anniversary. Soon after, Apollo had contacted her through school. He had explained to her all about what he and the other crime lords did. They had been meeting every so often since then, but always in locations of Apollo's choosing.

"Oh, it was easy. I just asked someone to direct me to the Dare penthouse," Apollo replied smugly. Rachel rolled her eyes. "No, that's not what I meant. Well, it sorta is, but still. What's with the surprise meeting? Normally, you're really secretive about where and when we see each other."

Apollo sighed. "Rachel, when did you find out about my world?"

"Percy told me on our six-month anniversary. I thought you knew that." Rachel frowned. Something was not quite right here. Normally Apollo was much calmer. Not calm as in hippie-calm, but calm as in relaxed and joking around. There was a sense of..._urgency_...to his behavior today.

"No, you knew before that. That idiot boyfriend of yours just told you something that you already know."

Rachel resisted the urge to slap Apollo for insulting for Percy. She focused on his question instead. "I guess that I've just always known. I can't remember anyone ever telling me."

"Just as I thought. There are people who are born with knowledge of my world. You are one of them." This was crazier than Rachel thought. What powder had Apollo been snorting?

"Okay...great. Why does this matter?"

"I told you about most of what I do. However, there is one thing that I didn't tell you about. Because of my extensive knowledge of the other crime lords, I can predict what they do before they do it."

"You're a freaking fortune teller, in other words."

"Very true. But sometimes I _can't_ predict their movements. When that happens, I need someone—an oracle—to help me. This is one of those times."

Rachel was attempting to process this information when the butler knocked on her door. "Supper is almost ready, Miss Rachel," he called. "If you wish, your guest is welcome to done with us." Rachel and

Apollo looked at each other. "Email me later?" she asked.

"Definitely," he replied.

* * *

><p><strong>I have the best reviewers on FanFiction. Seriously, you guys are awesome. As usual, there will be a sneak preview for the next chapter if you leave a signed review and you have private messaging turned on. Now go click the little button with the speech bubble!<strong>


	5. Act 1, Scene 5: Blocking, part 1

**Special thanks to ****I'mDifferent-GetOverIt, VictoriaG98, PurpleRose328, RaynieJay, RebellaShadow, AuroxTheLander, AmeeThePercabethLover, DemigodLove, thegayperson, BlackConverse24, The Moonlit Waters, AnnabethChaserocks, Alexandra Nightshade, Suki-Alanna, Tink'n'Zoey, Agent Astro Zombie, Annabelle-Paisilee Nott, Izzy Simi, and the three anonymous readers (including The Greeks Rok Ur Sox) for reviewing. Kudos to everyone who had the good sense to favorite me and/or this story.**

* * *

><p>Annabeth was leaving rehearsals when she heard someone calling after her.<p>

"Hey Annabeth, wait up!" Percy was sprinting in her direction.. Annabeth rolled her eyes. Was he _trying_ to leave skid marks on the sidewalk?

"This is really awkward, but Rachel is making me apologize to you for having tuna for lunch the other day," he said sheepishly. Annabeth stifled a laugh.

"That's nice of her. Did she say anything else?"

"Yes. I'm not allowed to eat tuna before kissing anyone again, or I will—and I quote—'face the wrath of Rachel the tickle monster'."

This time, both Annabeth and Percy started laughing.

"She threatened you with _tickling_?" Annabeth asked.

"Yeah...see, I'm scarily ticklish, so it's a pretty effective threat," Percy replied. Annabeth thought about this. Tickling would make for some pretty effective blackmail. Let's see...this could become extremely useful.

"Oh shit," Percy said suddenly. "You're gonna use the tickling thing to blackmail me, aren't you?" Annabeth smirked. "Yup. You really shouldn't have told me that, but I suppose that you're too much of a seaweed brain to realize that."

Percy groaned. "Yeah, I am. By the way, my mom wants me to invite you to our apartment so that we can practice our lines or something like that."

"Sure, I'll come. But all the women in your life have you whipped, you know," Annabeth replied.

"All of them except you, that is."

"I'm working on it."

* * *

><p><em>Alright! Party at my house on Friday! Address is in online school directory. Starts at 9:30...guests are welcome!<em> was what Thalia texted half of her contacts as an invitation. She figured that the other half would find out eventually. There was three whole days between now and Friday, after all. How much could go wrong?

* * *

><p>Rachel sat down at her state-of-the-art laptop and opened her web browser. She signed into her email account and saw, among several unread emails, one from Apollo. Ignoring all the others, Rachel clicked on it and read the message.<p>

_The oracle must be someone who is born with knowledge of the crime lords. And yes, I'm looking at you. If you agree, you'll be injected with a serum containing the portion of my DNA that lets me predict the future. There's a catch, though. Because it's male DNA entering a female system, you won't be able to come in contact with any type of male DNA except mine. And yes, I'm talking about sex. I know that this is going to be a difficult choice for you—_

Rachel stopped reading there. Apollo was asking her to chose between Percy and him. Even thinking about that made her head hurt.

* * *

><p>"So, welcome to Casa de la Percy," Percy said, opening the door to his apartment.<p>

"You do know that you just called yourself a girl, right?" Annabeth asked, stifling a giggle. "La is the feminine definite article, and el is the masculine. So really, this would be Casa del Percy."

"I already knew that...but that explains why I always fail Spanish class."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Señor Gonzalez has been telling us that every class since the start of the school year. You really don't paying attention, do you?"

"But I don't have Señor Gonzalez—I have Señora Perez. I don't pay attention anyways, though."

"Percy, is that you?" a woman who must have been Sally Jackson called from inside the kitchen.

"No, Mom, of course not. I'm a helicopter pilot who recently crashed on the roof of the apartment building, and I'm looking for the wanted criminal Percy Jackson." Percy joked.

"Oh really? Well, I guess you won't be able to have some of these freshly-baked blue chocolate chip cookies, then."

Percy shot up from where he was sitting on the couch. "Nope, never mind, Percy J is in the house! Where'd you say those cookies were again?"

Annabeth stood up a bit more calmly and walked to the kitchen. Mrs. Jackson was standing guard over a tray of cookies (that really were blue) sitting on the stove.

"Not so fast! They'll still be here in thirty seconds," she said laughingly. Percy was about the same height as his mom. They had the same smile, too.

"Not if I eat them first!" Percy said, attempting to reach around his mom.

"Perseus! You have a guest!" Mrs. Jackson scolded.

Percy gasped. "You said the P-word!" he half-whispered, scandalized.

Mrs. Jackson sighed, "Yes, Percy, I called you Perseus. Get over it already. On second thought, don't. I don't need you attacking the cookies again." Turning towards Annabeth, she said, "Hello dear, you must be Annabeth. I apologize for my son's behavior. He can be a bit spazzy at times."

"Mom!" Percy protested.

Ignoring Percy's comment, Annabeth replied, "Oh, that's okay, Mrs. Jackson. I have two little brothers—I'm used to spazzy boys."

"Excuse me? I do not act like a little kid!" Percy said. He seemed very indignant for some reason.

"Sure you don't. Little kids act like you." Annabeth replied.

Sally laughed. "I like you. Percy, you need to bring girls like Annabeth home more often."

"I will...if you let me have some cookies!"

"Let Annabeth go first, so that she can actually get a chance to try one."

Annabeth picked up a paper plate and selected a blue cookie off the tray. She sat down at the tiny kitchen table, and waited for Percy to sit with his three cookies before starting.

Annabeth bit into the cookie, ignoring the color. She was pleasantly surprised at the taste—they were still warm, and the chocolate chips were melty. The blueness didn't affect the flavor at all.

"These are amazing," she said. Annabeth's hand was over her mouth to prevent cookie crumbs from flying everywhere. "Except...why are they blue?"

Sally smiled. "Thank you. The blue food has been a running joke between Percy and I for years."

"See, back when she was married to this asshole name—" Percy interrupted.

"Percy! Watch your mouth!" Mrs. Jackson scolded. Percy actually looked guilty. "Sorry, Mom."

"As my son was saying," Sally continued, "my ex-husband, Gabe Ugliano, and I once had a fight over whether or not blue food existed. Ever since then, I've gone out of my way to have blue food."

"She makes blue cakes with blue frosting and blue chocolate chip cookies," Percy jumped in.

"I used to work at a candy store, and I would bring home blue candy." Mrs. Jackson smiled and wrapped her arm around Percy. "Now that my ex is gone, it's just a joke."

"And a lot of really tasty food," Percy said. Annabeth suddenly noticed the way Percy's eyes lit up when he smiled. Their color was gorgeous, really. It was a deep sea green, like the ocean. Percy's sea green eyes and messy black hair...

Whoa, where did that come from? Annabeth shook her head quickly to get rid of those thoughts.

"That's really cool. I wish that I had a tradition like that with my family," she said, smiling.

"Oh, you probably have your own stories. Everybody does," Mrs. Jackson said, smiling.

"There's only one story...and it's really a long one," Annabeth admitted shyly.

Percy stood up and walked to the stovetop, where he grabbed two cookies. He set both of them down in front of Annabeth and sat back down.

"As long as it's not boring, I'm okay with it," Percy said. He smiled at Annabeth. "Fire away, Chase."

"Well...when I was seven years old, I ran away from home," Annabeth began.

"Wait, really? That's so cool!" Percy interrupted.

"Percy, don't interrupt," Sally chided. She smiled at Annabeth. "Please continue your story, dear."

"I was in my pajamas, and hadn't thought to bring money or a change of clothes with me. People kept on attacking me because of who my mom was. It wasn't exactly fun, and I ended up hiding in a dumpster.

"At one point, two people found me. I tried to brain the guy with a hammer, actually. They were runaways, too. We spent two years traveling up and down the east coast together, and those were the best two years of my life. We were a family then, and we're still friends today. That was how I met Thalia and Luke."

"Whoa...that's cool. How'd you end up back home?" Percy asked.

"So, you know Mr. Brunner, the drama teacher? He found us in Pennsylvania and took us back to Manhattan. He arranged for Thalia to come live with me, since her mom couldn't take care of her. Luke went back to live with his mom. I suppose you know the story from there," Annabeth replied. Percy hadn't thought about anything past the adventure aspect of the story, but Mrs. Jackson had.

"Why couldn't Thalia's mother take care of her?" she asked.

"That's not my story to tell," Annabeth replied.

* * *

><p>Luke stood at the entrance to school, waiting for someone. She shouldn't be hard to find, considering that bright orange hair of hers...<p>

There! She was just leaving the building now, with some of her friends. He approached her casually, an easy smile on his face.

"Hey, Rachel! Just the girl I was looking for!" he said.

Rachel smiled. "Hi Luke, what's up?"

"Listen, can I talk to you in private for a minute?" Luke asked.

"Um, sure, I guess so," Rachel replied. Luke led her over to the side wall of the school. His entire demeanor changed suddenly—from friendly and open to imposing and overbearing. Although there couldn't have been more than six inches in height difference, Rachel felt like Luke was looming over her. She shrank back against the wall, hoping that he wouldn't notice.

"I know what Apollo contacted you about. I know what he wants you to do for him," Luke began.

"How?" Rachel asked. There wasn't any way that Luke could know that—she hadn't told anyone, after all.

"How I know doesn't matter." Truth be told, Ethan had told him. "What matters is that I know-and that my mother was Apollo's last oracle."

Rachel shrank back against the wall even farther. Her eyes were wide with confusion. Although their bodies were already close together, Luke stepped even closer. He could smell Rachel's perfume.

"My mother tried to become the Oracle when I was already born. The serum drove her insane. My father abandoned us, leaving me to be raised by a woman who couldn't get a job, let alone raise a child." Luke paused for a second to let Rachel take in his words. She looked terrified. Luke felt a flash of remorse for scaring her, but quickly pushed it away. He needed to do this.

"Don't do this, Rachel Dare. Don't break up with Percy before Thalia's party tomorrow. Don't abandon your life for someone who'll use you, then drop you."

"You don't understand. I have to do this, Luke. I can't not do it," Rachel replied. She looked close to tears.

"Then I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." With that, Luke walked away.

* * *

><p>It was 9:15 on Friday night, and about a quarter of the school was heading to Thalia's apartment. She, Luke, and Annabeth had just finished setting everything up. There was all manner of snacks and drinks, as well as a few banned substances (courtesy of Luke). In eight hours, the place would be completely trashed, if the neighbors didn't call the police first.<p>

"Okay, Annabeth, let's head to my room to change," Thalia announced. She grabbed Annabeth's arm and practically dragged her down the hallway. The girls changed quickly, since they had done most of their makeup and other prep before setting up.

"You're sure that this looks okay?" Annabeth asked. She was wearing a short denim skirt and a blousy top with zigzag stripes. Thalia had convinced her to wear a little bit of makeup (meaning body glitter and metallic gray eye shadow), but nothing too extreme. "I really shouldn't let you pick my clothes..."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Girl, you look hot. Now, let's go see what Luke thinks of my outfit."

They left the room and headed back out to the foyer where Luke was waiting. His jaw dropped open when he saw what Thalia was wearing.

"Hello, sweetie," Thalia said, smirking. She was wearing a black sleeveless minidress, fishnet tights, and black leather boots. "How do I look?"

"You really don't want to know what's going through my head at the sight of you in that dress," Luke replied slowly. His eyes wandered up and down Thalia's body.

"That dirty?" Thalia's smirk grew wider.

"Worse." Now Luke was smirking, too.

"Hey, is it possible for you two to stop flirting for a minute? I think that people are arriving," Annabeth said. She was looking out the window. It was hard to tell, giving how high up they were, but it looked like a girl with red hair and a boy with black were talking in front of the doors.

Luke and Thalia got up to look over her shoulder.

"Oh, no..." Luke whispered.

* * *

><p>Percy was waiting for Rachel outside of Thalia's apartment building. She had just gotten out of a cab, and was walking towards him.<p>

"Hey beautiful," Percy said. He then noticed that Rachel was wearing her favorite paint-splattered jeans. That was odd. Rachel didn't usually wear that type of clothing to a party.

"Percy...there's something that I need to tell you," Rachel said. She looked really nervous.

"Okay. What's up?"

"I-I'm breaking up with you," Rachel choked out. She felt like she was about to start crying.

Percy looked confused and hurt. "But—why? Did I do something, or—"

"That's just like you, to blame yourself for something that's not your fault," Rachel managed a weak smile through her tears. "It's mine. I'm sorry, Percy. I can't tell you why, but you should find out soon enough. I'll miss you." With that, Rachel walked up to Percy and kissed him one last time. He watched her as she walked away without another word.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm sorry. I have no decent excuses for not updating for so long. Feel free to rant at me all you want...<strong>

**Okay, on to happier topics. I can't believe I have **_**71**_** reviews! I never expected this story to reach fifty reviews, let alone seventy. I love all of you, in a non-pervy, sibling-y way. Seriously, you guys are amazing.**

**I'm sorry that this chapter is short, but if I had made it longer, it would have been another thousand words. Congratulations to you if who caught any of my Doctor Who references! (There are 2, if anyone's wondering). Also...PERCABETH AND THUKE FLUFF! =D This concludes Act One, by the way. I can't make up my mind on how to do the chapter titles. =D**

**Yes, there will be a sneak preview if you leave a signed review (and have PM-ing turned on). I can't guarantee that I'll send it out anytime soon, but there will be one. I DARE you to click the little button with the speech bubble. **


	6. Act 2, Scene 1: Blocking, part 2

**Special thanks to ****DemigodLove, lovelikewoe13, TheGreekGirl348, Crane's Shadow, AuroxTheLander, kiwihead136, I'mDifferent-GetOverIt, MidnightForever17, RavenclawSeeker19, Cotix14, Suki-Alanna, AnnabethChaserocks, TheGreekGoddessAphrodite, Annabelle-Paisilee Nott, starglow13, AmeeThePercabethLover, Izzy Simi, Sweedledome, and the two anonymous reviewers (including Hannah, whose second review made me laugh out loud) for reviewing. Kudos to everyone who had the good sense to favorite me and/or this story.**

**And now for the feature presentation!...**

* * *

><p><em>In chapter 5: With that, Rachel walked up to Percy and kissed him one last time. He watched her as she walked away without another word.<em>

* * *

><p>"What do you mean, 'oh no'?" Thalia asked. "How do you know what's going to happen?"<p>

"It's complicated. All I can say is that Rachel is breaking up with Percy," Luke replied.

And sure enough, the redheaded girl walked up to the black-haired boy and kissed him. She then proceeded to walk away.

"But—why?" Annabeth asked. "Rachel didn't have any reason to break his heart like that."

"I have absolutely no idea," Luke said. It was true, in a roundabout way—he did have no idea why Rachel chose to not listen to his advice.

"We can solve their relationship problems later," Thalia interrupted. "Right now, we have a party to host!"

"She's right, you know," Luke said, looking at Annabeth.

"I know—but that doesn't mean that I have to like it," Annabeth said. She frowned. Whatever reason Rachel had for this, she would pay.

* * *

><p>Percy stared after Rachel in shock. She just...They weren't...They had been dating since the end of eighth grade, and then Rachel just breaks up with him without any further explanation! What the fuck gives?<p>

"Hey, Perce! Wassup?" Grover asked, walking toward where his best friend was standing. Percy didn't respond.

Grover waved his hand in front of Percy's face. "Earth to Jackson! Can...you...hear...me?"

Percy shook his head suddenly. "Dude, Rachel just dumped me. She didn't say why or anything. I didn't even get a 'I still want to be friends'."

"Seriously? That's great! You're now single, and just in time for Thalia's party! Let's go check out all the hot girls!" Grover exclaimed.

Percy glared at Grover, not saying anything.

"Okay, I get that you're upset over this. I'm sorry. But can we save the emotional stuff for tomorrow morning, when we all have hangovers? Please?"

"Grover, I'm not sure about this," Percy sighed. "I don't even know if I want to go anymore..."

"Eh, you'll feel better after a couple of rounds of beer pong," Grover said confidently. He then proceeded to drag a protesting Percy into the apartment complex.

* * *

><p><em>Earlier that evening...<em>

"Mom? Nico? Are you home?" Bianca asked. The house seemed quiet. Maria's car has been parked out front, but she might have walked to the grocery store or something.

"Bianca! You came to visit!" Maria said, walking into the entryway gracefully. She pulled her daughter into a hug. "How are you doing? Do you need anything? Have you been eating right, and brushing your teeth, and—"

"Mom, I'm fine," Bianca broke in. "Everything's going great." She hesitated for a minute, then asked, "Is Nico still mad at me?"

"Mom, tell her that I am," Nico said. He was standing in the doorway between the living room and the foyer; close enough to talk to Bianca without using a go-between.

Maria glanced at Bianca and sighed. Bianca nodded in understanding.

"Hey Nico, I got you something. I know that it won't make up for me leaving, but maybe it'll help a little," Bianca said. She fished in her jacket pocket for a small figurine and tossed it to Nico. The little statue was the only Mythomagic figurine that he didn't have yet: Hades, the god of the Underworld.

Nico looked down at the statue, then back up at Bianca.

"Mom, tell Bianca that I say thanks," he said quietly.

"You're welcome," she replied. Brother and sister looked at each other. The atmosphere was almost tangible.

Bianca's phone buzzed; she had received a text. She slid her phone out of her pocket and glanced at the screen.

"I have to go now. I'm sorry that I couldn't stay longer. We can all meet up for dinner at one point, okay?" she said. A shadow fell over Maria's face, but passed quickly.

"I will hold you to that," the woman said, kissing her daughter's cheek. Bianca hugged her mom goodbye. She called, "Bye, Nico! I love you!" over her shoulder.

Nico whispered, "Love you too," as she was closing the door.

* * *

><p>Annabeth looked around wildly. In the space of half an hour, Thalia's party had turned from peace into chaos. There were three games of beer pong (among other drinking games that she didn't know) and two of strip poker. The girls playing that were down to their thongs and a push-up bra or two—not that they had been wearing much more to begin with. On the dance floor, people were grinding and making out. She couldn't hear anything over the music and pounding in her head, but she could see plenty.<p>

Annabeth had had a few beers herself. Unused to drinking, she had only consumed two. That was more than enough to make her tipsy, though.

"Percy! Hi!" she said, spotting a familiar black-haired head. Its owner turned around and looked at her.

"Annabeth? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why'd you ask?" she replied

"Because you never talk to me, that's why."

"Oh! I geddit now!" Annabeth said, nodding. "That's a good reason."

Percy sighed. "Annabeth, how much did you drink?"

"Two beers! It's my first time, too!" she replied cheerfully.

He groaned. "C'mon, Annabeth. Let's get you outside before you get your hands on some crack or something."

"Okay! Wait, but I don't want to leave!" Percy began pulling a slightly reluctant Annabeth towards the door.

One of the Stolls stopped them on the way out. "Dude, if you're trying to take Annabeth to a bedroom, then I don't think she wants to go." This would happen to him right after a breakup.

"Connor, don't be stupid," Percy said, exasperated. "She's practically drunk, and she's only had two beers. I'm not going to let her stay here."

"Oh, okay then. You may leave," Connor said. He did an over-dramatic bow towards the door.

"Hey! Hey, Percy! How'd you know that was Connor?" Annabeth asked excitedly.

"Because Travis is busy with Katie Gardner," Percy replied. Sure enough, the two were having a very detailed make-out session in a corner.

"Excuse me, but I need to go talk to those two," Connor said.

He pushed past Percy and Annabeth and made his way through the crowd to where Travis and Katie were busy.

"Well, it's about time!" Annabeth said. Suddenly, the music seemed louder and the room more crowded. Annabeth's headache got worse, too. She swayed slightly where she was standing.

Luckily, Percy noticed this. "C'mon, you. Let's get some fresh air." He lead her out of the apartment and to the elevator. "Percy? I want to go home." Annabeth said. Percy wrapped an arm around her. "I'll get you home, Wise Girl. I promise. But I'm not going to take you there this near wasted." He lead her out of the elevator and the building. There was a small bench outside the lobby of the building. Percy sat them down on it.

Annabeth leaned in next to him. They were silent for a while, then Annabeth said, "Percy? Did Rachel really dump you?"

"Yeah, she did." Percy replied.

"Oh. Well, that's good, then. For me, anyways."

Percy glanced down at her. "Why?"

"Because I won't have to worry about invoking the wrath of your girlfriend by kissing you in play practice," she said quietly.

Percy laughed. Annabeth could feel his chest shake. Her headache was mostly gone, and now she felt really tired.

Holding back a yawn, Annabeth wrapped her arms around Percy and snuggled into him. He looked down in surprise, then sighed and shook his head. Annabeth would regret this in the morning, but for now, Percy would enjoy their moment.

* * *

><p>"Nico! We don't have anything for dinner, so I'm going to walk to the grocery store!" Maria called.<p>

"Bye, Mom! See you soon!" Nico replied.

"I love you!"

Nico sighed and rolled his eyes. "Love you too." He heard the door open and then close. He continued watching TV for the next hour or so, and then started playing Mythomagic.

Something was wrong. Mom would've called if she was taking this long. Nico grabbed the nearest phone and dialed Maria's number. It rang..and rang...and rang...then there was an answer.

"Hello, you've reached Maria diAngelo. Please leave a message, and—"

Nico ended the call. This was not good. He didn't have anyone else to call, other than one person...

Two hours. He would wait two more hours to hear something from Mom, then he would call Bianca.

* * *

><p><em>Two hours later<em>

Bianca and the other huntresses were hanging out in one of their apartments when Bianca's phone rang.

"B, that's yours!" Phoebe called.

"I know, I'm going." Bianca picked up the phone and glanced at the screen, prepared to click 'Ignore'. Then she saw the name.

"Oh my god. Nico's calling." Phoebe and the other huntresses stared at her. Bianca had told so much them about her little brother-especially how he was mad at her for joining them.

"Nico? What's wrong?" Bianca asked.

"Bianca..it's Mom. She walked to the grocery store three hours ago, and she hasn't come back yet," Nico sounded scared. That was bad. Nico was never scared-he could watch movies like _Nightmare on Elm Street_ and not blink an eye.

She pressed mute on the phone so Nico couldn't hear what she said next. "Our mom's missing. Can someone go ask Zoë for permission to go and search for her?" Missing people were the Hunters' specialty, and they hadn't had a new case for a while.

Bianca unmuted the phone. "Nico, stay calm. Don't go outside and lock the doors. If you haven't had dinner yet, make yourself something and don't order takeout. I'm going to search for her with the girls. I'll call you if I find something."

Nico sighed with relief. Bianca would take care of everything. She always did.

* * *

><p><em>The next morning<em>

When Annabeth woke up, she didn't know where she was. She looked around for a minute, then realized that she was in her bedroom. She was still wearing her clothes from last night, but someone had removed her makeup.

Think, Annabeth, think...She was at the party, and she had two beers (apparently not enough to have a hangover). Everything was crazy, and then she saw Percy...

...And the rest of the night came rushing back. What had she been thinking! After they left the party (God, she was acting like such an _idiot_ in there!), and the hugging thing on the bench (good thing Percy wasn't dating Rachel anymore), he had taken her home on the subway. He had paid for both their fares—she owed him for that. Percy took her home, and she had fallen asleep without changing out of her clothes.

Oh, god. Annabeth got out of bed. She showered quickly and changed into clean clothes, not bothering to mess with her hair. She walked downstairs to where her little brothers and stepmom were watching TV.

"Helen, what's for breakfast?" she asked, rummaging around in the cupboards.

"Annabeth, come over here," Helen called. She sounded a little choked up. "I think you need to see this,"

Annabeth walked over to the couch. "What's wrong?"

Bobby and Matthew were dead silent. Helen picked up the remote and backed up a few minutes.

A news broadcast came on. "Last night, at eleven o'clock PM, a body was found in an alley off 1st street. It was immediately identified as Maria diAngelo, age 36." A picture of Mrs. diAngelo came on the screen.

"Oh, no," Annabeth said softly.

"Her daughter Bianca diAngelo, age 14, was the one who found the body. The cause of death appears to be stabbing, but an autopsy is still being performed."

Helen turned off the TV.

"Doesn't Bianca have a little brother? Nick?" she asked, wiping her eyes with a tissue.

"Yeah, she does. His name's Nico. Can I call and ask if he needs a place to stay?" Annabeth was still in shock. She had only met Mrs. diAngelo once or twice, but Bianca and Nico didn't have any relatives to go stay with (since their dad wasn't in the picture).

"We've already got you beat," Helen said. "I'm in a support group of sorts for people with children whose other parent is a crime lord." Annabeth's mouth dropped open. She had no idea that Helen even _knew_ about her mom!

"Sally Jackson—I think her son's name is Percy—and I were good friends with Maria diAngelo. I already talked to Sally, and she said that she offered Nico and Bianca a place to stay," Helen continued.

"Well, that solves that problem," Annabeth said.

Helen turned to face Annabeth. "You're right. Your father and I will talk to you later about your arrival last night."

Annabeth gulped. "Yes, Helen," she said meekly.

* * *

><p>"Shh, Nico, it's okay."<p>

"No, it's not! Our mom is _dead_, Bianca!"

"I know. And the other Hunters and I will find out who did it and hunt them down."

Nico looked up at his sister. Both of their eyes were red from crying. "Promise?"

"Promise."

* * *

><p><strong>I'm sorry! I'm sorry! You all must hate me now. That was my first time writing a character death, and I have to say that I didn't like it. There will be a sneak preview for the next chapter if you leave a signed review and you have PM-ing turned on. The dare to click the little button with the speech bubble still stands!<strong>


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